Dareus’ third season with the Bills was his best yet. His 71 total tackles were tops in the NFL among all defensive tackles. His 7.5 sacks ranked fifth among defensive tackles.

Dareus replaces San Francisco’s Justin Smith.

The Pro Bowl will be played in Hawaii on Sunday. Dareus will join fellow Bills defenders Jairus Byrd, Kyle Williams and Mario Williams in the game. The all-star game for the first time will not be played between the NFL’s two conferences. The players selected to the game will be split into two teams on Wednesday.

Dareus was the second alternate among DTs. Dallas’ Jason Hatcher was the first alternate. He replaced injured Haloti Ngata of Baltimore.